We love to make the most of the warmest months by eating outside. When the weather plays along, alfresco dining in the Cape Winelands is a real treat. There’s something rather magical about dining at one of the best outdoor restaurants, where you can soak up the sunshine and get lost in the greenery – or scenery – that surrounds your table. Lazy, indulgent and just what we’re in need of! From sunny courtyards and botanical greenhouses to shady outdoor terraces, check the forecast and head to one of these for a fun and breezy time.
La Petite Ferme Restaurant
An endlessly glamorous spot for garden dining
The magic combination of picturesque vineyard views and a spectacular mountain backdrop. If a restaurant could make you weak in the knees, La Petite Ferme Restaurant would have diners dropping left and right. Come warm weather, La Petite Ferme’s flower-lined garden transforms into an intimate destination for lunch and dinner. Idyllic for long lunches in the sunshine with friends, it promises a slice of calm – and delicious food. The two or three-course menu (which changes seasonally) offers an array of elegant dishes on bespoke ceramics, made with fresh and well-sourced ingredients. From starters to dessert, there’s something memorable for everyone to love. The crispy squid is one of the standout starters – a medley of pickled ginger, salmon roe, a ponzu and white wine sphere, pea purée, microgreens, Brussels sprouts leaves, rooibos tea and vanilla sauce, and a squid ink coral tuille. We also loved the finely balanced curried beef samosa, with spiced apple chutney, baby leaves, coriander and a coconut curry reduction. Enjoy alongside a bottle of La Petite Ferme Sauvignon Blanc – a crisp, exuberant and vibrant wine. Big-hitting mains include the profoundly satisfying phyllo pastry-wrapped rolled lamb shoulder with mint yoghurt, roasted aubergine purée, jus, dukkah, confit tomatoes and a microgreen salad. Another hit is the perfectly cooked Franschhoek trout served with a side of warm three-bean and bacon salad, fennel bulbs, salt and vinegar crisps, trout caviar and white wine velouté plus a wedge of lemon for squeezing. Every dish sings. Finish on a sugar high; the Cape brandy pudding and ‘study of chocolate’ dark chocolate mousse are worth sharing.
Open Monday to Sunday from 12h00 to 15h30 and Monday to Friday from 18h30 to 20h20
La Petite Ferme, Lambrechts Road (Franschhoek Pass), Franschhoek
021 001 6690
Rykaart’s
A celebration of Stellenbosch’s bountiful fresh produce
Bucolic and brilliant. With the philosophy of simple, sustainable food – from the very land on which they operate – Alex and Ella Rykaart are ready to take on their newest venture. Rykaart’s, the eponymous eatery that was once situated in the heart of Stellenbosch, has found a new home with country charm in spades on Longridge Wine Estate. Few places beat the biodynamic wine farm’s expansive views of Table Mountain. You’ll enjoy a three-course set menu that’s served family style and changes monthly, either under the trees or inside. Served by impeccably trained staff, the menu comes to life when eaten on pleasantly old-school botanical tablecloths amid well-tended organic herb and vegetable gardens. Diners can expect veggies plucked straight from the on-site gardens. This sustainable approach, which lets nature take the lead in the kitchen, makes for creative and delicious dining. Our favourite plates included the simple yet surprising carrot risotto with roasted carrots, carrot greens and shaved Parmesan; the garden salad with a nori nut dressing that picked up other flavours superbly; the carefully constructed grass-fed beef sirloin with chimichurri, red wine sauce and a garden’s worth of edible flowers; and the corn on the cob smothered in chipotle butter and onion skin ash. Dessert was also phenomenal – a flawless almond cake, served with lightly whipped cream and topped with caramelised pineapple, toasted coconut and candied almonds. The lush style of the Longridge Ou Steen Chenin Blanc, with its notes of orange blossom and honey nougat, pairs wonderfully. In the end, you might be so full you can’t move – but what’s the rush with a view this beautiful?
Open for lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and for dinner on Friday and Saturday
Longridge Wine Estate, Helderberg Pad (off R44), Stellenbosch
021 855 2005
Ristorante Pasta Pasta
The most made-for-Instagram trattoria you’ll ever see
Spice Route Destination’s new Ristorante Pasta Pasta goes above and beyond your average neighbourhood trattoria when it comes to ambience. The restaurant isn’t entirely outside, but the cosy indoor dining room spills out onto an open-air space, where bright pink bougainvillea climbs up the walls and a small balcony peeks out over Wilderer Distillery. The setting is lush and romantic, bathed in warm, golden light. Sit down at a red-and-white checkered tablecloth and order up antipasti and something from the reasonably priced wine list. Our favourite ever-green dish on the menu is the caprese salad (call it the caprese di bufala if you’re feeling fancy) with buffalo mozzarella, thick-sliced ripe tomatoes and basil leaves, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Or you could start with something like the vitello tonnato – a classic Italian starter made with veal silverside and served chilled with a creamy tuna and anchovy mayonnaise-style sauce – then move onto a jumbo portion of spaghetti carbonara finished off with egg yolks. The pasta menu also offers the likes of al dente aglio olio e peperoncino with garlic, oil, red pepper flakes and prawns; gnocchi in a deeply savoury sage-butter sauce; rigatoni lounging provocatively on a bed of ragù alla bolognese with carrots, onions, celery, whole peeled tomatoes and fresh herbs; and creamy farfalle dressed with gypsy ham, brown mushrooms and garden peas. Pure joy. Once you’ve eaten pudding – we had the house-made tiramisu, combining espresso-soaked ladyfingers, lightly sweetened mascarpone cream and grappa – carry on your afternoon with an aperitivo. The Aperol spritz is excellent and makes for a refreshingly bitter-sweet drink.
Open Monday to Sunday from 08h00 to 17h00
Spice Route Destination, Suid-Agter-Paarl Road, Paarl
021 863 4367
076 261 4693
Muratie Farm Kitchen
Tranquil dining under mature trees
Muratie Farm Kitchen – a farmhouse dating back to 1685 – isn’t somewhere you’d stumble upon. Tucked into the top of the laidback Knorhoek Valley, this spot feels like a real local’s secret. Prepare yourself to rumble down a country road and feel certain you missed a turn. Of all the eerie places in the Cape Winelands, there’s something extra spooky about Muratie Wine Estate’s famous tasting room, where the windows are draped in thick cobwebs and wine bottles caked in layers of dust. The cobwebs and dust don’t suggest poor housekeeping – instead, they signify the passage of time. Adorning the wall is a calendar, serving as a reminder of the year 1977 when the cobwebs first began to accumulate. But the weather is finally warming up, and you know what that means – it’s time for alfresco dining. Muratie Farm Kitchen’s tall trees, cobbled walkways, dappled light and rustic simplicity make for a meal of rare loveliness. Don’t expect flounces and frills – these are simple dishes, executed well with ingredients at their peak. A starter of burrata, beetroot, exotic tomatoes and basil dressing is a restrained showstopper, while the springbok carpaccio with fried onion and mustard mayo is a major savoury mouthful. For mains, slow-braised Karoo lamb shank with jus, creamed potatoes, caramelised carrots and seasonal vegetables is the star of the show. Staff are known for being a perfect blend of attentive and personal. They’re only too happy to share the stories behind certain dishes and wines. Always save room for sweets – the Belgian chocolate tart and vanilla panna cotta are both eye-rollingly good. Come for Sunday lunch when the atmosphere is at its most relaxed.
Open Wednesday to Sunday from 09h00 to 15h30
Muratie Wine Estate, Knorhoek Road, Koelenhof, Stellenbosch
021 865 2330
